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Nigeria’s RMRDC initiates revival of
garment sector
Nigeria’s Raw Materials Research and
Development Council (RMRDC) has
initiated the process of accelerating
local production of garments for
domestic and international markets to
reduce imports. As part of the efforts,
the council recently trained cotton
farmers and organised a two-day
workshop in Kaduna for workers in the
cotton, textile and garment sector.
Over 150 members of the Nigerian
Tailoring and Fashion Designers
Association participated in the
workshop organised in collaboration
with El-Jahab Mubarak Nigeria Limited.
NRF-EuroCommerce agreement on
common approach to GDPR
Pic courtesy: NRF
The National Retail Federation (NRF)
and EuroCommerce have agreed to
work together in developing a common
approach to implement the European
Union (EU) General Data Protection
Regulation (GDPR). The regulation,
adopted in April 2016 and to be
implemented from May 2018, sets
out changes to most customer data
processing areas.
The agreement followed meetings
between NRF and EuroCommerce
member firms, US Government and EU
officials, Europe-based retailers and
EuroCommerce on a gamut of issues
impacting the retail industry, such as
data portability, consumers’ right to
have their data removed, gaining data
subjects’ consent, profiling and dealing
with data breaches, according to a
recent NRF press release.
Cambodia hikes minimum wage for
garment workers to $170
Cambodia has raised the monthly
minimum wage of workers in the
garment and footwear sector from $153
to $170, the highest hike in the past two
years. The decision came after Prime
Minister Hun Sen raised the wage
by $5 after a committee, comprising
representatives from the government,
26 | FIBRE 2 FASHION NOVEMBER 2017
unions and employers, met in early
October and agreed on a $165 value.
The hike, to be effective starting
January 1 next year, is a year-on-year
increase of 11 per cent, with the
minimum wage increasing by less
than 10 per cent in the two preceding
years. Only in 2014, the first year of
the tripartite negotiations, did wages
increase more, rising 28 per cent
following the nationwide wage protests
of 2013.
Workers would also receive additional
bonuses, including payments for
accommodation and travel, as well as
‘seniority’ payments if they continue in
the same job for more than two years,
labour minister Ith Sam Heng said.
Russia proposes ‘green corridor’
for Uzbek textiles
Visiting Russian minister of industry
and trade Denis Manturov has
proposed Uzbek foreign trade minister
Eler Ganiev creating a ‘green corridor’
for the supply of textile products from
Uzbekistan. In 2017, the supply of
textiles from Uzbekistan to Russia
increased by 22 per cent.
The ‘green corridor’ concept was
launched by the European Union in
2007 wherein goods do not have to
undergo customs inspection while
crossing borders.
Ganiev feels the potential is vast
as the proposal covers production
cooperation, the use of Uzbek yarn
for production at Russian enterprises,
the supply of finish ed textile products,
knitted fabrics and cotton fabrics.
Italy signs agreement to boost
Ethiopian textile sector
The Ethiopian Textile Industry
Development Institute and the
Italian Trade Agency have signed
an agreement to boost the textile
industry in the former. Textile firms
will be the key beneficiaries of the
assistance through the ‘Italy-Ethiopia
textile technology centre’ project.
The assistance includes €200,000 for
technology and training equipment,
and will help improve Ethiopia’s textile
industry capabilities.
Egypt to launch second textile city
in Badr
The Egyptian ministry of industry and
trade will launch a second textile city
in Badr, located to the north east in the
Cairo governorate, on an area covering
1 million square metres, according to
industry minister Tarek Kabil. The textile
city will have198 plots to accommodate
textile, garment and dyeing units.
TRADE
US textile & apparel imports down
1% in Jan-August ’17
The import of textiles and apparel
by United States declined by nearly
1 per cent in the first eight months
of 2017. The total value of imports
stood at $70.052 billion, compared to
imports valued at $70.755 billion in the
corresponding period of the previous
year. Apparel constituted the bulk of
these imports valued at $53.211 billion,
while non-apparel imports accounted
for $16.840 billion.
China continued to be the largest
supplier of textiles and clothing items
to the US market. The US imports from
China were valued at $24.986 billion,
accounting for 36.37 per cent share of
all textile and garment imports made
by the US during January-August 2017,
according to the Major Shippers Report
(August 2017 data), released by the US
department of commerce.
Vietnam, India, Bangladesh and
Indonesia were the next four top
suppliers of textiles and garments to the
US, with goods valued at $8.078 billion,
$5.152 billion, $3.663 billion and $3.240
billion, respectively, during the eight-
month period, the report showed.